Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients have received a GP referral but who have not yet been allocated an NHS number on a consultant led waiting list.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In line with referral to treatment rules, a patient's waiting time clock starts from the moment they are referred for consultant-led elective treatment. According to these rules, there should be no time between a general practice referral and entry onto a consultant-led elective waiting list. The complete time elapsed between referral and treatment will be recorded on the published consultant led referral to treatment waiting time data, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/rtt-data-2025-26/
Guidance is provided to NHS England and integrated care boards through the Referral to treatment consultant-led waiting times: rules suite, which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the average length of time patients are currently waiting between GP referral and being added to an NHS consultant-led elective care waiting list; and whether any such waiting periods are included in official waiting list statistics.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In line with referral to treatment rules, a patient's waiting time clock starts from the moment they are referred for consultant-led elective treatment. According to these rules, there should be no time between a general practice referral and entry onto a consultant-led elective waiting list. The complete time elapsed between referral and treatment will be recorded on the published consultant led referral to treatment waiting time data, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/rtt-data-2025-26/
Guidance is provided to NHS England and integrated care boards through the Referral to treatment consultant-led waiting times: rules suite, which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England includes the period between receipt of a GP referral and the issuing of the first appointment offer within published consultant led referral to treatment waiting time data.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In line with referral to treatment rules, a patient's waiting time clock starts from the moment they are referred for consultant-led elective treatment. According to these rules, there should be no time between a general practice referral and entry onto a consultant-led elective waiting list. The complete time elapsed between referral and treatment will be recorded on the published consultant led referral to treatment waiting time data, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/rtt-data-2025-26/
Guidance is provided to NHS England and integrated care boards through the Referral to treatment consultant-led waiting times: rules suite, which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of extended pre-listing delays on patient outcomes and clinical risk in high-volume specialities.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In line with referral to treatment rules, a patient's waiting time clock starts from the moment they are referred for consultant-led elective treatment. According to these rules, there should be no time between a general practice referral and entry onto a consultant-led elective waiting list. The complete time elapsed between referral and treatment will be recorded on the published consultant led referral to treatment waiting time data, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/rtt-data-2025-26/
Guidance is provided to NHS England and integrated care boards through the Referral to treatment consultant-led waiting times: rules suite, which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department monitors variation between NHS trusts in the time taken to convert GP referrals into entries on consultant led elective waiting lists.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In line with referral to treatment rules, a patient's waiting time clock starts from the moment they are referred for consultant-led elective treatment. According to these rules, there should be no time between a general practice referral and entry onto a consultant-led elective waiting list. The complete time elapsed between referral and treatment will be recorded on the published consultant led referral to treatment waiting time data, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/rtt-data-2025-26/
Guidance is provided to NHS England and integrated care boards through the Referral to treatment consultant-led waiting times: rules suite, which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the period between GP referral and a patient being added to an elective waiting list has increased or decreased in the past five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In line with referral to treatment rules, a patient's waiting time clock starts from the moment they are referred for consultant-led elective treatment. According to these rules, there should be no time between a general practice referral and entry onto a consultant-led elective waiting list. The complete time elapsed between referral and treatment will be recorded on the published consultant led referral to treatment waiting time data, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/rtt-data-2025-26/
Guidance is provided to NHS England and integrated care boards through the Referral to treatment consultant-led waiting times: rules suite, which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department monitors variation between NHS trusts in the time taken to convert GP referrals into entries on consultant led elective waiting lists.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In line with referral to treatment rules, a patient's waiting time clock starts from the moment they are referred for consultant-led elective treatment. According to these rules, there should be no time between a general practice referral and entry onto a consultant-led elective waiting list. The complete time elapsed between referral and treatment will be recorded on the published consultant led referral to treatment waiting time data, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/rtt-data-2025-26/
Guidance is provided to NHS England and integrated care boards through the Referral to treatment consultant-led waiting times: rules suite, which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department records how many patients have withdrawn from treatment or deteriorated clinically while waiting to be added to an elective care waiting list.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold the data in this format.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment the Department has made of the potential impact of puberty suppression on levels of likelihood of progression to cross sex hormones.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Cass Review recommended that there is a need to build a more robust evidence base for the use of puberty suppressing hormones as a response to gender dysphoria in childhood, through a carefully considered research programme. The PATHWAYS Trial Study has been established for that purpose, in which puberty suppression will be offered solely within the context of the comprehensive assessment and psychosocial support now offered by the National Health Service.
Kings College London University, which is leading the research, has advised that it is not possible to know before starting puberty suppressing hormones what the treatment plan for any single young person will be at the end of the trial. This will depend on several factors, including their experience of puberty suppressing hormones, their mental and physical health, and their preferences for future care.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of waiting times for and availability of trauma-informed therapeutic support for child victims of peer-on-peer or child-on-child sexual abuse; and whether she intends to introduce access targets for such support.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that timely support is critical for child victims of sexual abuse, and that demand for child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) has risen significantly. The 10-Year Health Plan set out an ambitious reform agenda to transform the National Health Service and make it fit for the future. In line with this, we will go further to ensure that NHS mental health services deliver the care that people deserve, including child victims of sexual abuse.
We are committed to reducing waiting times for specialist CAMHS support, as set out in our Medium-Term Planning Framework. We are also accelerating the rollout of Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges to reach full national coverage by 2029. As part of this, we are investing an additional £13 million to pilot enhanced training for staff so that they can offer more effective support to young people with complex needs, such as trauma. By bringing in vital services to schools, we can intervene early, promote wellbeing, and support recovery.
Our action so far has resulted in more young people being supported to access NHS mental health services. In the first 12 months of the Government, nearly 40,000 more children and young people received support compared to the previous 12 months.
There are currently no plans to introduce such an access target. The Darzi Review highlighted that there are too many NHS targets, so we have reduced the number of national priorities for 2025/26, focusing on what matters most to patients.